CLATAC Bulletin No. 2 (April 2012)
Friday, 13 April 2012

GENERAL

eTextbooks and Open Educational Resources

ETextbooks Update. Prepared by Maxine Brodie, Macquarie University. Briefing paper for Macquarie University Library Committee 23 February 2012. [Members-only - linked from the display at the end of this page]

The State of the E-Textbook

Students have not yet ditched heavy textbooks, but the options for getting course materials digitally are growing.
By Rachel Sadon and Leah Yamshon, PCWorld Jun 23, 2011

E-Textbooks Saved Many Students Only $1

Despite the promise that digital textbooks can lead to huge cost savings for students, a new study at Daytona State College has found that many who tried e-textbooks saved only one dollar, compared with their counterparts who purchased traditional printed material.

Digital Dependence of Today's College Students Revealed in New Study from CourseSmart

CourseSmart™, the world's largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials, and Wakefield Research, a consultancy specializing in strategic and tactical research, recently completed a survey of more than 500 currently enrolled college students, providing insight on how mobile devices and technology have changed the traditional college experience and the role technology plays in students' academic abilities and success.

Open-education resources have been hailed as a trove of freely available information that can be used to build textbooks at virtually no cost. But a copyright lawsuit filed last month presents a potential roadblock for the burgeoning movement.

....To gain access to the digital alternatives, students select the traditional books assigned in their classes, and Boundless pulls content from an array of open-education sources to knit together a text that the company claims is as good as the designated book.